Verizon lowering barrier to 3G data entry with higher prices

Verizon is making no secret of its attempt to raise revenues and get more " …

Verizon is looking to "simplify" its offerings by paring down its handset lineup and upping its data charges per megabyte. The company announced Friday that it would begin rolling out new service plans ahead of its 4G launch that were geared towards higher revenues, but also bringing in more customers. And, while that news may sound annoying to some of us data hogs, it will probably work for the wireless carrier.

First, the details: Verizon has introduced a new data tier at $9.99 per month with a 25MB cap—this is the cheapest data plan now offered by the company and by most US wireless carriers, and applies to all 3G devices. Why does this equate to "upping" the data charges? Because the company is ditching its $19.99 per month plan with a 75MB cap altogether—you must either go with the $9.99 plan for a third of the data or or the $29.99 smartphone plan that applies to WinMo, Android, or BlackBerry devices.

By lowering the entry cost for a data package, Verizon is making a grab at average customers who have been put off by high data prices in the past. These customers can then get hooked on data for the same price as a trip to McDonald's and then, like that trip to McDonald's, be lured into super sizing once the 4G/LTE network is up and running.

On top of the data plan restructuring is Verizon's plan to slim down its device lineup. Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam told analysts on a conference call this morning that it is looking to take its 80 devices down to 50. (Really? Verizon offers eighty phones!?) The goal is to make the offerings easier to parse, both by customers and Verizon's sales team. In this sense, simplification is usually a good thing.

Verizon acknowledged that it's on the offensive with these moves in an attempt to bring in more customers, increase data penetration, get lower-end customers paying more, and increase revenue overall. (In addition to the data plan changes, the carrier also introduced a $69.99 unlimited nationwide talk plan, and an $89.99 unlimited talk and text plan.) To that end, it's likely to succeed—Verizon's network is already attractive to most mainstream customers, and a lower barrier to entry will net more customers who weren't previously interested in mobile data, even if the cost per meg is going up.